The problem is that they are trying to position themselves as a First Party and a Third Party. They have to choose and they cant do both ways, one of it has to give( meaning lose relevance). This just leads to confusion, especially for costumers ( especially casuals) deciding what console to buy/ or what ecosystem to get into. What product do they want to sell to costumers, an ecosystem? a brand? or just a software product that can run on competing brands( like Windows products).
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The only other one I can think of that was in GOTY talks was Forza Horizon 5 but that game is one of the major reasons to own an Xbox Series console so idk
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Those all have been GOTY contenders? Hmm. However I don’t think it will be for a Nintendo platform only. Apparently it will “piss off” Xbox fans and I don’t remember too much issues when Ori came to Switch, unless I misremember.
Yeah, if it ends up being Forza Horizon 5… Man, Phil and Co. better have a nuclear bunker to hide in because it will get nuclear for them.
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I wondered about Forza, it’s such a huge success as an exclusive I wouldn’t have thought so but equally it’s successful enough to potentially be a huge revenue drawing hit across multiple platforms.
Ultimately though, the rumour seems to include a mention that the GP draw has dried up a bit for this title suggesting something smaller - I haven’t looked in a while but I’d imagine FH5 is still doing good numbers.
It’s not ideal, no.
I also can’t help but wonder what all the other studios at Xbox must be thinking about this. Like…if this game can go to the other platforms, why not ours?
I just don’t get it. They’re trying to build up momentum by having all these games coming down the pipeline and at this moment Sony are still actively paying certain publishers to keep games off of xbox , including things like FF7 Remake. This is just a bad look all around, I’m not seeing the logic at all. (again, if true)
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I think they got someone who knows a thing or two about nuclear bunkers 
They make dumb decisions but I don’t think they are that crazy, not yet anyway
FH is their biggest exclusive, if it goes everything would
It’s definitely not FH then, that game is always in the top played GP games, it’s a monster
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There is no way, no way it’s FH. Forza IS Xbox, like Gears and Halo are. Hell naw.
I have a feeling it’s Forza Horizon, and maaaan the chaos this will bring will be on par with the 2024 elections lol.
That’s the thing, they are just looking for more problems being indecisive about this. They should just be transparent and tell us what’s going on. It’s better for the fans, and the devs they own questioning the leadership rn due to mix messaging.
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Hypothetically speaking, if it’s something that is like Horizon 5 or something never touched other platforms, that will be your time to hard question Phil about exclusivity. It’s fine as it is now with how it fits the narrative, but Horizon 5 going there will be your cue to question.
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What do you think is going on though? Are they going to say all games that meet the following requirements will be multi platform? I don’t think such a guideline exists, that’s why it’s case by case.
Xbox is kind of big enough to do both though, as they have done for a while - they have enough studios under them that any discussion of actual studio counts becomes pretty arbitrary when some of them are as big as the likes of Blizzard - they can and will have a strong identifiable line up of major exclusives that exist to draw people to the platform. No one is looking at the games they’ve got coming as confirmed exclusives and wondering if they’re coming to Playstation, even while Xbox continues to profit off the likes of Minecraft.
Plus, Xbox has game pass and Xcloud as well as well as PC - no matter where they release these games the best place to play them is always gonna be Xbox. They’re already much more about their wider ecosystem than any one platform, and anything they release anywhere ultimately benefits that platform.
At that point, just tell xbox gamers to go to Playstation. Forza Horizon series is such a unique franchise because no other game comes close to it, and performance wise it’s Microsoft strongest IP outside of COD and Minecraft.
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Probably not but the alternative is everyone assuming nothing is off the table and will just wait or at least not jump in straight away/buy something else
That’s why this is the sort of thing that should be avoided completely, it’s just a slippery slope with more cons than pros
It’s why you don’t have to deal with this crap for Playstation or Nintendo, MLB and Bungie are special cases, everything else you know isn’t coming to Xbox ever and Nintendo…enough said
With them it’s invest in us or sod off
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5 days since new year, and we have a first doom n gloom, wow.
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This type of derailing into theoreticals is why I despise vague rumors from “insiders”. Can we not, please?
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Like I said above, they cant be a third party and a first party at the same time without devaluing one over the other. They have to choose one path, the “case by case” basis thing is just delaying the inevitable imo.
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